Man Threatens Plow Drivers in Middletown

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Middletown police have charged a 56-year-old local man accused of grabbing a loaded double-barrel shotgun and threatening snow removal workers when he saw a plow moving snow toward his property on Friday, during the blizzard.

An employee of Country Club Landscape contact police around 4 p.m. on Friday to report that a man, later identified as James Bankowski, threatened him and his co-workers as they were clearing the parking lot of a condominium complex across from his George Street residence.

The plow worker said they were pushing a small pile of snow from Knoll Crest Condos, on George Street, across the street, when the city plow came by.

That was when Bankowski started yelling from his front porch, according to police,

Thinking the man was calling to them, one of the snow removal workers walked over and saw Bankowski had was waving a gun, The Middletown man raised it over his head and said, “Tell that guy to put the snow on his property or I’m going to blow him up,” a witness told police.
The man said “OK” and left.

When police called Bankowski, he admitted to the confrontation, according to police.

He said he was watching the snow fall when he noticed a plow pushing snow onto his property, according to the arraignment report.

This upset him, so Bankowski grabbed his double-barrel shotgun, went outside, followed the men and swore at them, according to the police report.

“I never intended to shoot anyone, just wanted to scare them enough to get my point across,” he told police, according to the arraignment report.

Bankowski was brought to Middletown police headquarters and charged with reckless endangerment, threatening and breach of peace.